Method of preparing binder wire for attachment to shoes



Dec. 1, 1953 H. R. LEVESQUE 2,661,031 J METHOD OF PREPARING BINDER WIRE FOR ATTACHMENT TO SHOES F'iIe d Feb. 24-, 1950 5 1: Flinn.

Inven for Henry R Levesque Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE METHOD OF PREPARING BINDER WIRE FOR ATTACHMENT TO SHOES Application February 24, 1950, Serial No. 145,943

. 1 Claim.

This invention relates to methods of preparing binder wire for attachment to a shoe for holding the shoe upper in lasted position around an end of the shoe bottom and has more particularly in view the provision of an improved method of preparing an end portion of the wire for attachment to a tack at one side of the shoe bottom before the wire is applied around the end of the shoe in upper-holding position.

Toe-lasting machines have been provided heretofore with means for preparing binder wire for attachment to a tack in a shoe by forming a loop in an end portion of the wire, as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.52,160,846, granted on June 6, 1939, on an application oi F. C. Eastman and A. F. Pym. In accordance with that disclosure the operator bends the wire partially around a pin and anchors its free end portion in a slot formed in a member from which the pin projects, and in the operation of the machine the wire is bent further around the pin to form a loop by swinging movement of this member and the pin. In order that the wire will be held securely by the tack, however, it is necessary for the operator additionally to bend the free end portion of the Wire transversely around its body portion before mounting the loop on the tack or to twist the end portion of the wire additionally around the tack after mounting the loop on the tack.

The present invention provides a method of preparing the end portion of the wire in such manner that neither of the above-mentioned additional operations is necessary. In the practice of the method in the manner herein shown use is conveniently made of a pin and of a member with a slot therein, such as shown in the abovementioned Letters Patent, except that the slot for anchoring the end portion of the wire is differently positioned as required by the different manner in which the operator manipulates the wire. He bends the wire around the pin to form a loop and positions a portion of the wire extending from a reel located near its free end transversely over one side of the wire extending from the loop, inserting the end portion of the wire in the slot to anchor it, with the free end projecting from the plane of the loop beyond illustrative manner of practicing the method, the operator forms the loop by carrying the end portion of the wire around the pin in a clockwise direction, and the body portion of the wire is thereafter bent transversely around the portion positioned over it by bodily swinging movement of the slotted member and the pin in a counterclockwise direction. It is only necessary there after that the loop be slipped over the tack, no further manipulation of the wire being required to cause the tack to hold it securely.

The novel method will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of the upper portion of a toe-lasting machine in the use of which the novel method is herein illustrated as carried out;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation on a larger scale of a portion of the machine including the pin around which the wire is bent and the member provided with a slot for anchoring the end portion of the wire;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pin and the slotted member;

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the same parts as Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view similar to Fig. 3, but including a portion of an arm on which the pin and the slotted member are mounted and illustrating how the wire is bent around the pin by the operator and how its end portion is anchored in the slotted member;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but with the parts as they appear after the swinging movement of the pin and the slotted member;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views similar respectively to Figs. 5 and 6 of analogous parts shown in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, to illustrate by comparison the different manner of treating the wire in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing the shoe with the binder wire fastened thereto before the shoe leaves the machine shown in Fig. 1.

The machine shown in Fig. 1, except for modifications which need not be described, may be assumed to be generally of the same construction as disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent. It includes a pair of toe-embracing wipers 2 which wipe the lasting margin of the upper around the toe inwardly over an insole on the last and press a portion thereof in upstanding position against a lip a on the insole, as illustrated in Fig. 9. The lip is supported against the inward pressure of the wipers by a plate 4 which engages its inner face and in contact with which the operator presents the shoe. Substantially at the beginning of the power operation of the machine a toe rest 6 carried by a vertical rod 8 is moved upwardly into position to support and hold the shoe.

After the wipers have wiped the upper inwardly over the insole and while they are holding it in lasted position the machine comes to a stop to enable the operator to attach an end portion of toe binder wire 10 to a tack t at the lefthand side of the shoe bottom and by a pull on the wire at the right-hand side of the shoe to draw the wire at least partially inward under the wipers around the toe, as described in the above-mentioned Letters Patent. While continuing his pull on the wire the operator starts the machine again, whereupon the wipers are partially retracted and lifted to permit the wire to be drawn tightly against the upstanding margin of the upper, Thereafter the wipers are operated to press the wire firmly against the upper, and after this operation the operator twists the wire around a tack t at the right-hand side of the shoe bottom and severs the portion of the wire applied to the shoe from the rest of the wire.

To assist in preparing the end portion of the wire, in accordance with the method of this invention, for attachment to the tack t at the lefthand side of the shoe bottom the machine is provided with a pin I projecting upwardly from a small circular block I2 which is mounted on the upper end of an upwardly extending inclined arm I4. A stem [8 extending downwardly from the block through the upper end of the arm has a nut l8 threaded thereon to secure the block in fixed relation to the arm. A hub portion 20 of the arm is rotatably mounted on the rod 8 and rests on a flange 22 formed on the upper end of a bushing 24 which extends downwardly through an opening in the frame 26, the flange being secured on the top of the frame. Extending downwardly from the hub portion 29 of the arm through the bushing 24 is a sleeve 28 having therein an annular recess 30 in which lies a segmental member 32 to prevent upward movement of the arm l4 while permitting it to swing about the rod 8. The member 32 is held against upward movement by a screw 34 which is threaded therein and is mounted in a bore formed in the bushing 24. Formed on the lower end of the sleeve 28 are gear teeth 36 engaged by a rack bar 33 horizontally movable in a guideway in the frame. The right-hand end of this rack bar (Fig. 1) is connected to one arm of a bell-crank lever 40 the other arm of which is connected by a link 42 to a member 44 movable upwardly and downwardly with the rod 8. Initially the arm I4 is located at the right-hand side of the toe rest 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and in response to the upward movement of the rod 8 to apply the toe rest to the shoe the bell-crank lever 40 and the rack bar 38 are operated to swing the arm in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed from above, through an arc of substantially 180 to a position at the left-hand side of the rod 8. When the rod is thereafter moved downwardly in the return of the parts of the machine to initial positions, this movement of the rod serves through the parts described to swing the arm l 4 reversely to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2.

The toe binder wire w is supplied from a reel is rotatably mounted on a bracket 48 on the right-hand side of the machine, friction means (not shown) being provided to prevent the reel from turning too freely. The wire coming from the reel is guided by a loop formed in a member 50 on the bracket 48. Before using the machine to last a shoe the operator, in carrying out the method of this invention, bends the wire around the pin it] in the form of a loop by placing the wire in front of the pin and carrying its free end portion around the pin in a clockwise direction, as illustrated in Fig. 5, positioning a portion of the wire near its end over what may be termed the body portion of the wire extending from the pin toward the reel. He then bends the end portion of the wire downwardly into a slot 52 formed in the block 12 at the right of the pin, positioning the wire in the slot under a projection 5 3 formed on the block l2 to insure that the wire will be retained in the slot. Better insurance in this respect may be afforded by bending the extreme end 56 of the wire sharply toward the right, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The portion of the wir positioned over its body portion is thus anchored in fixed relation to the pin. Thereafter, in response to the swinging movement of the arm 14 in a counterclockwise direction in the mannner above described, the body portion of the wire is bent transversely around the portion above referred to as positioned over it, as illustrated in Fig. 6. When the operator thereafter is ready to attach the wire to the tack t at the left-hand side of the shoe bottom, he removes it from the pin and slips the loop over the tack. In response to the pull applied by the operator to the wire at the right-hand side of the shoe in drawing it inwardly under the wipers the loop formed in the wire will assume a position more nearly in line with the body of the wire than in Fig. 6, but the manner in which the body portion of the wire is bent transversely around the portion initially positioned over it adjacent to the pin by the swinging movement of the arm i4 is such that the wire is effectively held by the tack against the force of the pull applied thereto.

The manner in which the wire has been treated heretofore to prepare it for attachment to the tack t in the use of the machine shown in the previously mentioned Letters Patent is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. The arm I4 has been provided with a pin I0 and a block [2 like corresponding parts shown in Figs. 3 and 4 except that the block has been provided with a slot 52' positioned initially at the left of the pin, as shown in Fig. 7. The operator places the wire at the rear of the pin and bends its end portion only partially around the pin in a counterclockwise direction, thereafter inserting it in the slot 52 to anchor it, as shown in Fig. 7. The swinging of the arm [4 thereafter in a counterclockwise direction through an arc of substantially further bends the wire around the pin to complete the loop, as shown in Fig. 8. In order that the wire will be held securely by the tack it, however, the operator must bend the end portion of the wire about its body portion with his fingers before mounting the loop on the tack or must twist the end portion of the wire further around the tack after the loop is on the tack. When the wire is treated in the manner illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 in accordance with the method of this invention it is unnecessary for the operator to perform these additional operations, which results in a substantial saving of time.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

That improvement in methods of forming a loop adjacent the free end of a piece of wire extending from a reel which comprises the steps of bending the wire into a loop with the free end 10 portion disposed on one side of the wire extending from the reel and. projecting from the plane of the loop beyond the other side of the wire extending from the reel, and then moving the loop thus formed and the free end portion in an armate path about an axis spaced from the loop in a direction away from the wire extending from the reel, thereby moving the free end portion 6 past the opposite side of and beyond the wire extending from the reel to bend the wire transversely around and in contact with the free end portion.

HENRY R. LEVESQUE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 392,878 Owen Nov. 13, 1888 643,224 Drummond Feb. 13, 1900 1,059,310 McFeely Apr. 15, 1913 1,151,639 Whitworth Aug. 31, 1915 1,246,345 Steen Nov. 13, 1917 2,087,490 Voigt et a1 July 20, 1937 2,160,846 Eastman June 6, 1939 

